Archibald bannatyne



Patented Sept. I3, I898.

A. BANNATYNE.

REPEATING CLOCK.

(Application filed June 8, 1896.)

(No Model.)

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ARCIIIBALD BANNATYNE, OF VATERBURY, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO THE\VATERBURY CLOCK COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

REPEATING CLOCK.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 610,7 53, datedSeptember 13, 1898.

Application filed June 8, 1896. Serial No. 594,720. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that LARCHIBALD BANNATYNE, of IVaterbury, in the county ofNew Haven and State of Connecticut, have invented a new Improvement inClocks; and I do hereby declare the following, when taken in connectionwith the accompanying drawings and the letters of reference markedthereon, to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, andwhich said drawings constitute part of this specification, andrepresent, in

Figure 1, a view in front elevation of one form which a clock movementcontaining my invention may assume; Fig. 2, a partial view thereof invertical section on the line a l) of Fig. 1; Fig. 3, a detached enlargedplan View of the regulating device; Fig. 4, a sectional view thereof onthe line 0 d of Fig. 3; Fig. 5, a detached view of the lifting andwarning lever; Fig. 5, a detail view showing the turn--back cam inelevation and the lifting and warning lever in cross-section; Figs. 6and 7, views in front and rear elevation of one of the modified formswhich my improvement may assume; Fig. 8, a partial View in verticalcentral section on the line a b of Fig. 1.

My invention relates to an improvement in clocks, the object being toimprove them in the respect of their striking and regulating mechanisms,whereby simplicity of construction, convenience of daj ustment andattention, and accuracy of performance are secured.

IVith these ends in view my invention consists in certain details ofconstruction and combinations of parts, as will be hereinafterdescribed, and pointed out in the claims.

The first part of my invention relates to an improvement in strikingmechanisms of the 1'ack-and-snail type, with the particular object oflocating the hammer and hammer-tail outside or in rear of the rearmovement-plate, whereby they are so exposed as to be readily accessiblefor attention.

As shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings, the hammer A is adjustably securedby means of a set-screw a to a horizontally-arranged hammer-wire A, theinner end of which is rigidly connected with an oscillating hub Amounted upon a horizontal screw A projecting rearwardly from the rearmovement-plate B. A

hamm er-spring A supported at its lower end in a stud A mounted in thesaid plate B, engages at its upper end with a pin a, mounted in the hubA and exerts a constant eifort to turn the hub inward and depress thehammer. A sheet-metal 11am mer-tail A, prefer ably formed of hardenedmetal, such as steel, is rigidly connected with the hub and constructedwith a downwardly-hooked outer end having an operating-face a which isengaged for lifting the hammer-tail, and hence oscillating the hub andlifting the hammer, by means of the gathering-pins c c, which aremounted in a gathering-pin collet C, rigidly secured to the projectingrear end of the arbor C, which is in reality the arbor of the thirdwheel of the striking-train, but which for convenience of description Ishall speak of as the gatheringpin arbor. The said pins 0 c coactsimultaneously with their action upon the operating-face A of thehammer-tail A with the rack C which is hung upon a screw C and furnishedwith a yielding arm 0*, coacting with the snail D in the usual manner ofrack-and-snail mechanisms. I also employ a locking-lever E, mounted toswing upon a screw E and furnished with a stop-pin E, which coacts withthe teeth of the rack, and with an inwardly-turned stopfinger E whichcoacts in the usual manner with a stop-pin F, carried by the fourthwheel F of the strike-train. Under my improved construction, therefore,the gathering-pins c c not only coact with the rack to lift the same inthe ordinary manner of gathering-pins, but also simultaneously coactwith the hammertail to lift and release the hammer, which is thereforevirtually operated by the gathering-pin arbor, which is the same thingas the third-wheel arbor.

By making each gathering-pin lift the rack coincident with its coactionwith the ham mer-tail I am enabled to secure perfect harmony throughoutbetween these two opera tions, whereby the hammer will be left in itsdropped position or at rest when the rack is at rest, this beingnecessary to the reliable and accurate performance of the clock, for ifthe hammer is not at rest when the rack comes to rest the power of thehammer-spring will not be taken off at such time from the strike-train.If the power of the hammer-spring isleft upon the strike-train, the samewill have to be operated by the spring of the time-train against theload represented by the power of the hammer-spring, which will be verylikely to prevent the strike-train from getting up momentum enough afterwarning to effect the operation of striking. Under my improvement,however, the rack and hammer not only act in perfect unison, but stop inperfect unison. My improvement, furthermore, avoids the necessity ofsetting the rack, locking-lever, hammer, and gathering-pins so as to actin unison, inasmuch as they are constructed and arranged so that theycome into right relations for acting in unison in the initialassemblance of the clock movement, whereby a great saving of skilledlabor is effected. Here it may be said that as heretofore constructedclocks of this character have had to be accurately-set, so as to bringthe rack, hammer-tail, locking-lever, and gatheringpins into rightrelations for operating in unison. Moreover, the setting operation justmentioned has been difficult of prosecution, as some of the parts havebeen located between the movement-plates and some outside of the same.On account of locating the hammer and rack upon the outer face of therear plate of the movement-frame the rack, gathering-pins, and hammerare of very easy access in being set for simultaneous operation, asabove set forth.

In the modified construction shown in Figs. 6 and 7 of the drawings thehammer G is secured to a hammer-wire G, attached to an oscillating hub Gsupported upon a pivot G and engaged for operation by the free upper endof a hammer-spring G the lower end of which is secured to a fixed studThe hammer-tail G0 is secured to the said hub and has its inner endturned inwardly in position to be engaged and lifted by a stop-pin H,mounted in the hub of the third wheel I of the strike-train, the saidwheel being in turn mounted upon the gathering-pin arbor I, whichoperates the hammer through the said wheel and pin, and thereforevirtually directly. The said gathering-pin arbor is furnished at itsforward end with two gathering-pins v 71, which coact with the rack J ofa rack -and-snail mechanism located outside and in front of the frontmovement-plate of the clock.

In the operation of the rack-and-snail mechanism (shown by Figs. 6 and7) the hammer is operated not directly by the gatheringpins, but throughthe gathering-pin arbor. This modified construction has in common withthe construction first described the advantage of locating the hammer tothe rear of the rear movement-plate and making it accessible forattention. It has the further advantage of permitting the hammer andrack to be worked in very close harmony, an advantage also possessed bythe other construction. As herein shown, the lifting and warning lever Kis made from a single piece of sheet metal and constructed with anintegral beveled lifting-tooth K, extending inward from it at a rightangle and coacting with the said cam. Then when the center arbor L isturned back for shifting the minute and hour hands of the clock theteeth of the cam engage with the beveled face of the said tooth andcrowd the same forward, the whole lever springing throughout its lengthto allow the tooth to get out of the way of the cam, which is thuspermitted to be turned back, as the expression is, without disturbingthe striking mechanism. The warning and unlocking action of this leveris well understood and does not need detailed description.

The next feature of my invention to be described is a regulating devicefor regulating the action of the clock mechanism by raising and loweringthe pendulum, so as to virtually increase or decrease the swinginglengthof the pendulum-rod. In carrying out this feature of my invention Iemploy what I term a frameplate M, provided with two correspondingsupporting-arms M M, by means of which it is secured by screws M M tothe apex of the rear movement-plate B, the said plate and arms beingbent at a right angle to each other and the plate standing in ahorizontal plane, while the arms stand in a vertical plane. This platesupports two vertically-arranged guiding pins or studs N N, which havetheir lower ends riveted into it. Between the lower ends of these studsand bearing upon the upper face of the plate is located a pinion 0,having a central internally-threaded opening 0 and secured in place bymeans of a springwasher O, the said pinion being meshed into by thetooth of a vertically-arranged pinion P, located between thesupporting-arms M M and secured to the projecting rear end of theregulating-arbor P, the forward end of which projects through the frontmovementplate B and is squared, as at P for the reception of a key, bymeans of which it is turned for regulating the performance of the clock.As the pinion O is turned in one direction or the other it operates toraise or lower a long vertically-movable externallythreaded post Q, thelower end of which passes downward through the pinion and is furnishedwith a stop-nut or washer Q. The upper end of the said post Q supports avertically-movable suspension-plate R, formed with aforwardly-projecting tongue R, having a slit R for the reception of theflattened upper end of the suspension-spring of the pendulum-rod, whichis not shown. The said plate is formed with two perforations R Rreceiving the reduced upper ends of the guiding-studs N N, which guidethe said plate as it is moved up and down through the medium of the saidpost, whereby the flattened portion of the suspension-spring of thependulum-rod is moved up and down through a slit S, corresponding to theslit R located below the same and formed in the forwardly-projectingtongue of a fixed suspension-plate S, corresponding in shape to theplate R, arranged in a horizontal plane and supported in a fixedposition upon the guiding-pins N N, which are shouldered for thepurpose, as clearly appears in Fig. i.

It will be readily understood that although the actual length of thesuspension-spring of the pendulum-rod is not changed it is virtuallyshortened or lengthened by raising or lowering it, and thus changing itslength below the plate S, below which it is free to swing.

My improved regulating device is very simple to construct and may beentirely assembled before it is applied to the clockmovement. It furtherhas the advantage of being accurate and so slow in its action that aninexperienced person may turn the regulating-arbor one way or the otherwithout materially disturbing the regulation of the clock.

Another feature of my invention relates to the location of the snail andsnail-wheel and to means for driving the same. IVith reference now toFig. 8 of the drawings, it will be seen that the snail D is connected bymeans of a hub D with a snail-wheel D the said snail and snail-wheelbeing mounted upon the rear end of the center arbor L, which for thispurpose is extended rearward through the rear movement-plate B, as wellas forward in the usual manner through the forward movement-plate B. Thesaid snail and snailwheel are therefore located outside of the rearmovement-plate and are very easy of access for setting the snail inright relation to the hour-wheel T, which is mounted upon theforward]y-projecting end of the center arbor and furnished with a hub T,to which the hour-hand is attached. The snail-wheel D before mentionedmeshes into a snailwheel pinion a, mounted upon the projecting rear endof supplemental arbor o, the pro- 3' ectin g forward end of whichcarries the hourwheel pinion IV, which is meshed into by the hour-wheelT. The arbor i; is mounted in the rear and front movement-plates B and Bat a point below the center arbor L and carries the minute-wheel X,which meshes into the cannon-pinion U, mounted in the usual manner uponthe center arbor, which also carries the pinion Z, which is meshed intoby the second-wheel (not shown) of the time-train. It will be noted thatunder this construction and arrangement the snail,snailwheel, andsnail-wheel pinion are located upon the outside of the rearmovement-plate and that the hour-wheel and hour-wheel pinion are locatedon the outside of the front movement-plate, while the minute-wheel islocated between the two movement-plates. This is a very advantageousconstruction, as it insures the harmonious performance of the snail withreference to the hour-hand and also enables the snail to be readily gotat for the purpose of setting it with relation to the hour-hand and alsofor the purpose of removing it in taking the movement apart.

In view of the foregoing it will be understood that some changes in theconstruction herein shown and described may be made, and I wouldtherefore have it understood that I do not limit myself thereto, buthold myself at liberty to make such changes and alterations as fairlyfall within the spirit and scope of my invention.

Having fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a clock having a rackand-snail striking mechanism, the combinationwith an arbor of the strike-train, of a gathering-pin carried by thesaid arbor, a hammer having a hammer-tail, and a rack, the saidhammer-tail and rack being constructed and arranged to be simultaneouslyacted upon by the gathering-pin which lifts or gathers the rack at thesame time it lifts the hammer into position for striking.

2. In aclock having a rack-and-snail striking mechanism, the combinationwith an arbor of the strike-train, of a gathering-pin carried by thesaid arbor, a rack, and a hammer having a hammer arm or wire, a hub towhich the said arm or wire is secured, and a sheetmetal hammer-tailsecured to the said hub, which is mounted for oscillation upon the rearor outer face of the rear face of the clockmovement, the said rack andhammer-tail being constructed and arranged to be simultaneously operatedupon by the said gathering-pin which lifts or gathers the rack at thesame time it acts through the hammertail to lift the hammer into itsstriking position.

3. In a clock having a rack-and-snail striking mechanism, thecombination with an arbor of the strike-train projecting at its rear endthrough the rear plate of the clock-movement, of a gathering-pin carriedby the said projecting end of the said arbor, a rack located upon theouter face of the rear movement-plate, and a hammer also located uponthe outer face of the said rear movementplate and provided with ahammer-tail, the said rack and hammer-tail being constructed andarranged to be simultaneously acted upon by the gathering-pin whichlifts or gathers the rack at the same time that it lifts the hammer intoits striking position l. A pendulum-regulating device forpendulum-clocks, having a frame-plate, two vertically-arrangedguiding-studs secured by their lower ends thereto, a pinion locatedbetween the lower ends of the said studs, supported upon the said plateand formed with an internally threaded central opening, a verticallymovable threaded post passing through the said pinion, and raised andlowered by the revolution thereof, a suspensionplato secured to theupper end of the said post, guided by the upper ends of the said studs,and adapted to receive the upper end of the suspension-spring of apendulum-rod, a fixed suspension-plate located in a horizontal planebelow the said suspension-plate,supported by the said studs, and havinga slit formed in it for the reception of the said spring, and means forrotating the said pinion for raising and lowering the post and hence themovable suspension-plate, whereby upon the projecting forward end of thearbor,

a supplemental arbor mounted in the plates, andalso projecting at itsends through the same, a snail-wheel pinion mounted upon the projectingrear end of the supplemental arbor, and meshed into by the snail-wheel,an hour-wheel pinion mounted upon the projecting forward end of the saidsupplemental arbor, and meshing into the hour-wheel, and a minute-wheelmounted upon thesupplemental arbor and meshing into a cannon-pinion onthe center arbor, substantially as set forth. In testimony whereof Ihave signed this specification in the presence of two snbscribingwitnesses.

AROI-IIBALD BANNATYNE.

Witnesses:

CLIFFORD H. HALL, GEORGE W. WATSON.

